Dry February Threatens South Bay Water Supply

SANTA CRUZ (KCBS)- The lack of rain this year is starting to make water officials in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties a little nervous.

Water conservation officials in Santa Cruz say if we don’t get a lot of rain over the next couple of months mandatory restrictions could be in effect by summer.

KCBS’ Mike Colgan Reports:

The outlook in Santa Clara County has also become more sobering.

”I think we were giddy in December, and now we’re more realistic and looking at the fact that if it doesn’t rain in February and March we may be looking at the same sort of water supply that we did a year ago,” said Marty Grimes with the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

He said that the good news is that people have been doing a great job with their conservation efforts.

”We’ve been asking for a voluntary reduction of 10 percent, and in Santa Clara County the community has saved more than 19 percent compared to 2004 levels,” said Grimes.

Grimes said the other positive sign is that the Sierra snowpack is still looking pretty good.

Mike Colgan, who has worked in Bay Area radio for more than 40 years, has been at KCBS since 1988. Other stops include a 13 year stint at KFRC, then known as the Big 610.
Mike is assigned to the KCBS Silicon Valley Bureau. He has covered many of t...